Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

"An exciting new addition to the 360's huge list of games."

“Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars” is the most recent title from the long running “Command and Conquer” series, and one which I have been enjoying immensely on the Xbox 360. After producing these strategy games for more than a decade, I'm delighted that this title has taken the much needed steps of balancing and tweaking, allowing the gameplay to be far more faster paced than previous titles, yet still maintain the strategic foundations that has elevated the C&C series into the lofty position it now enjoys.

At its most basic the gameplay takes place thus: You start off with a construction yard and by gathering tiberium, the games source of revenue, quickly build up your base and your army until you are ready to attack and hopefully topple the opposition, who obviously strives towards the same goal. The excitement and appeal of the game comes from the vast sci-fi battles that rage across the games maps, as infantry, tanks and air units are deployed, buildings are captured and eventually powerful nuclear weapons are fired. There's a very real sense throughout the game of tension, due to the fog of war you're never sure what forces your opponent has, and thus you're never sure whether to concentrate on creating an attacking force, defending your base or gathering more resources that might give you the upper hand in the battle ahead. There are three factions to choose from, each providing a different set of units, each excelling in a different area, and it's up to the player to utilise their chosen factions strengths and pursue victory.

The graphics and sound really are excellent, the cities and countryside the battles take place on are immensely detailed, and all the units look significantly menacing. The sound is straight out of a science fiction movie, and naturally all the units shout signature phrases as you send them into battle, which whilst charged with bravado, never become irritating.

The story is, as with all the “Command and Conquer” games, the perfect mix between mock serious and utterly ridiculous. With famous characters such as the Bald Man from Star Ship Troopers and Sawyer from Lost, each dressed in a costume somewhere between looking kitsch and looking like a child made it, every character delivers their lines in a hilariously cheesy way, which only adds to the appeal of the game. Special mention to that guy from Star Ship Troopers, who constantly looks like he's reading off a card just below the camera. The plot twists and turns like a furious snake, yet manages to remain utter predictable for the most part; that's not to say it isn't a good story, all I'm saying is just don't expect Hollywood performances from these Hollywood actors.

The single player game features multiple campaigns, and the multiple achievements encourage repeat playthroughs, although to gain all the achievements you're really going to want to get all the secondary objectives. These were probably included to add more variety to the single player game, but instead what they end up doing is setting you ridiculous challenges that you'd never even bother trying to attain if you weren't hopelessly addicted to getting all the achievements. Seriously, some of them are so picky and can be succeeded or failed in the blink of an eye, and when you're looking at a loading time of about 3 minutes every time you want to load up a saved game, the seemingly random nature of the bonus objectives can end up frustrating the gamer somewhat unnecessarily. The single player campaigns though are for the most part extensive and entertaining, and the story propels the game on at such a frantic rate that you get caught up in the action and find yourself eager to discover the conclusion. The fact that the GDI and NOD campaigns allow you to see both sides of the story is also a huge benefit.

Multiplayer on the Xbox 360 differs somewhat from the PC version of “Command and Conquer 3”. Some large cuts to units and structures have been made to make the game more balanced in the multiplayer mode. For example, on both versions the ability to build walls around your base has been scrapped, whilst this might seem like a step back, what it does do is increase the sense of tension, as you're not unable to funnel attackers through a main gate; attack can now come from any angle. The Xbox 360 version allows 4 players rather than the PC's 8, and so obviously the maps on the 360 version are much smaller. What this translates to is more intense furious battles, but it would have been nicer to introduce some larger 360 maps for those that like to play a more strategic and slower game. The 360 vision cam is enabled on the Xbox version, which means you have the opportunity to fill the four corners of your screen with your face, and the faces of your opponents. You can play team games, 2v2 is a personal favourite, and there are some maps that allow 2v1, with the lone player gaining access to more resources to balance things out. Human players can also choose to include computer players online to make things more interesting, and perhaps the most interesting option is that which allows three human players to take on the might of one brutal AI player. For those thinking those are unfair odds, the brutal computer player set on the highest difficulty, gets double funds, providing an interesting challenge online. There are also some exclusive 360 game modes such as capture and flag and capture and hold, which are pretty self explanatory.

To conclude, the Xbox 360 version of “Command and Conquer 3” is an excellent introduction for those that have never experienced a strategy game on a console, and offers a very different sort of action from the other popular Xbox Live multiplayer games. It is a game I heartily recommend.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/07